Blaise Zamora initiates his latest solo exhibition by reflecting on something his parents taught him from an early age, that is, “No man is an island.” Bringing this lesson from his formative years to the fore, Zamora touches upon our interconnectedness with his prolific exploration of the forms and images of human hands. In his works, meticulously composed, hyperreal images of hands inhabit the planes of his canvases.

In Blaise’s main piece, No Man is an Island, he pictures society as a gaggle of different hands making up a system that bares its hierarchy. Highlighting the influences of religion, authority, and social media, he seeks to balance the positive and negative viewpoints that emerge from our entanglement with the three powers.

To entwine, to caress, or to strike… These are just a few of the physical actions we perform with our hands, each one conveying a loaded message. We Can Only Be Human Together displays clasped hands, the fingers forming a kind of ridged shell of protection.

The hand is a gun in No Room for Violence, revealing our potential for communicating hostility and harm. In Speak no Evil, Blaise takes from the vocabulary of sign language in order to combine the gestures for ‘speak’ and that of devil horns. Both works become a call to action, presenting viable paths for a respectful and harmonious coexistence.

Compassionate Beings talks of what Blaise contemplates as the basic social responsibilities of each person. Shown as a hand being gently enveloped by another, we must find ourselves able to sympathize and empathize, because compassion goes a long way in relationships.

While Blaise’s upbringing instilled in him the importance of community and its added richness to life, No Man Is An Island is also an artistic acknowledgement of the daunting endeavor of connection in the present. In adulthood, he discovered a poem of the same name by 17th-century poet John Donne, demonstrating that the heart of the show is an age-old sentiment. The written poem is deeply affecting, much like Blaise Zamora’s oeuvre that is equally clear about life and the world only becoming easier to navigate with the help of other people. It becomes our stark reminder to embark on understanding beyond just ourselves. After all, life is created like a tapestry, each thread—or hand—intertwining all of our perspectives into one greater narrative.

“No Man Is an Island

No man is an island,

Entire of itself;

Every man is a piece of the continent,

A part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea,

Europe is the less,

As well as if a promontory were:

As well as if a manor of thy friend’s

Or of thine own were.

Any man’s death diminishes me,

Because I am involved in mankind.

And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;

It tolls for thee.” – John Donne

Written by  Sarah Conanan